Federal Watchdog Report Says Medicare Paid $5.1B to Nursing Homes Offering Poor Care

Nursing homes across the country received what amounted to $5.1B in 2009 for providing substandard care to residents. Many facilities did not adhere to or follow care guidelines set by federal groups assigned to setting  and policing nursing home standards. An estimated third of Medicare recipient patients who needed nursing home care in 2009 were placed in facilities that were substandard.

Some of the failures seen in facilities were:

• Failure to make care plans
• Failure to adhere to care plans
• Failure to catch potentially harmful drug interactions
• Continuing treatments no longer necessary
• Failure to make adequate plans for transitioning patients to home or other facilities 

Possible outcomes of the review are to pay only for care that meets standards, strengthening of regulations, improved enforcement for non-compliant facilities, and increased oversight in making sure standards are met. Types of enforcement for substandard care are corrective plans and denial of payment for substandard care.